Maestro Ranger
by xoc13
Summary: AU. Stephanie wants to learn Spanish and ends up with Ranger as the instructor.
1. Chapter 1

**No, I'm not dead. I apologize for the long gap in posting for my other stories, but there's so much going on right now. Just this month alone I have six exams. It's complete madness. And to top it all off, I'm planning a trip to Las Vegas for Spring Break;)**

**So, fear not I'll get updates out for my stories in the next several days. I'm currently working on 'Mañoso' and 'Brighter Than the Sun'. **

**The idea for this fic hit me while I was in class. It's going to be a fun little AU story. **

**Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. **

After a long and busy day I was dying to go home, take a nice hot bath and have something to eat while losing myself in a good movie. But starting today and for the next eight weeks, my free time will be eaten up by yet another obligation.

My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm a thirty something Jersey native with an Italian-Hungarian descent, fast metabolism, curly brown hair and blue eyes. I grew up in the Chambersburg neighborhood known as the Burg to the locals. It's a very close-knit community from which people rarely leave. Maybe that's where all the chaos in my life is coming from. I currently work for the Trenton Recreation Department, but I recently received an offer from the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department. My friend Lula lives in Miami and she gave me the heads up that speaking Spanish will be a great plus. So, I started doing some research. My grandmother gave me the tip that RangeMan has a great reputation. They offer free foreign language sessions for the seniors at the Senior Center once a week. Although I've never personally worked with them, everyone I asked gave me very positive feedback.

That's why instead of going home after work today I'm rushing to make it to class. RangeMan is located in the center of town, on Haywood. To be honest I imagined the place to be a lot… _different_. The seven story building has underground parking and thankfully it didn't take me long to find an open parking space.

I took the elevator to the first floor and found a massive man standing behind a desk in the lobby. He was bald and I was momentarily distracted by the tattoo on his forehead. "I…" I cleared my throat as I focused on the man's eyes, rather than his forehead. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm here for the Spanish class." He didn't say a word as he typed something on the computer in front of him. He filled out a blue piece of paper the size of a business card and handed it to me. It had my name on it and the location of the class. "Thanks." I gave him a finger wave and turned on my heel.

"Two-ten…two-twelve…" I read off room numbers until I found room 214. Inside, the room was a very standard one. There were about ten chairs with a tiny desk attached to them. A larger desk and a whiteboard decorated the front of the room and not much else. Three chairs were vacant, all in the front, so I had no choice. I always sat in the back in school and avoided at all costs having to sit in the front row. That's what I get for not arriving early, I guess.

Five minutes later the door opened and a man strode in. He was tall with a mocha latte skin complexion, a body to die for and he was dressed all in black.. I nervously looked around the room, wondering if perhaps I was in the wrong place. For all I know this could be fitness training or something.

"Is this Spanish class?" I asked the woman sitting next to me. She nodded, not taking her eyes off the instructor.

"You're all here for my Spanish for Non-Native Speakers course." It wasn't a question. He lifted a muscular arm as he introduced himself. "My name is Carlos Mañoso, but I prefer Ranger." An almost smile escaped his handsome face as he passed out some papers. "This evaluation will help me determine where everyone is at." Ranger said not to panic and told us we had ten minutes to fill out the form.

The first part of his evaluation was very standard, asking things like what was our purpose in taking the course and stuff like that. The last half of the form was completely in Spanish and I left it blank.

"Okay." Ranger walked around collecting forms, while simultaneously handing out more paperwork. I must have made a face of disgust, because he quickly scanned over my evaluation as I handed it to him. That almost smile returned as he handed me a syllabus. "Under your chairs you will find the book we'll be using throughout this course." He gave me one last considering glance before moving towards his desk, stuffing the evaluations inside a manila folder. "Before we start, let's get to know each other. Trust me, you'll want to make a friend in this class." A spark lit his gaze and I'm pretty sure he was staring right at me. "Why don't we start with you?" Yup, he was _definitely _staring at me. "Tell us your name and something about yourself."

I took a deep breath. _I'm too old for this shit_, I thought. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I love cake." Well, that was smooth.

The corners of Ranger's mouth twitched in a barely there grin. "I personally prefer pie." And with that he moved his attention to the woman sitting next to me.

"I'm Connie Rosolli and I work for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds."

Ranger turned his attention back to me.

"He's my cousin." I responded as if he'd asked me the question.

"He's a weasel." Connie stage whispered. I gave her a nod of agreement. Vinnie isn't in a lot of people's list of favorites.

"My name is Salvatore Sweet, but I prefer to go by Sally." Said the cross-dressing guy sitting behind me.

"I'm Jeanne Ellen Burrows and I'm quite_ flexible_." The way she gave Ranger the once over clearly showed she was interested in more than the class.

The last four people introduced themselves, but I didn't pay attention.

"From now on, you are not allowed to speak in this class." Ranger held up a hand to stop anyone about to protest. "_Unless_, you do it _Spanish_." His annoying barely there grin returned.

Jerk.

S&R

For the remainder of the class we worked on the first chapter of the book. It had three lessons and for the next class meeting we were to turn in the completed activities at the end of the chapter. I did a mental head slap. Why on Earth did I sign up for a class that meets three times a week? As if I don't have enough on my plate already.

On my drive home I began to doubt if I could actually pull this through.

"Maybe I don't really need to learn Spanish." I muttered to myself as I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment building. I sat there with the engine running for a few seconds, entertaining the idea of quitting the course. "But I already paid for the classes." With a sigh, I decided I was going to stick with it even if Señor Ranger made it a living nightmare.


	2. Blue

**Thanks for the great response to the first chapter. **

**There was an anonymous review that brought up their confusion on my use of 'maestro'. I understand where the confusion comes from, but just like anything else**_** context**_** is key. In this case, 'maestro' means 'teacher'. In this context, the meaning is not something like 'musica maestro' where it has a musical connotation. Just thought I'd clear this up. **

**Remember I said this would be a fun little story as you read this chapter;)**

**Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.**

I usually don't teach Spanish for beginners, but due to a family emergency the guy who usually does it, Ramon, will be gone for a few weeks. It was a complete last minute thing and I'm not even sure how I managed to get everything settled in just two days. I co-own RangeMan with my longtime friend Tank. We offer a wide range of classes, from learning a foreign language to fitness and others, but we also specialize in security. Before I had to take up the Spanish class I was schedule to instruct hand combating lessons. It would be a lie to say that I won't miss the more physically active lessons, but it is what it is. My name is Ricardo Carlos Mañoso, but since my military days I prefer to go by Ranger.

First meetings always hold a sense of apprehension and anxiousness for certain people. I make it my job to help the newbies deal with these unsettling emotions by taking direction and getting them started with the flow of my teaching style.

The first class went smooth with one particular student catching my attention. With those bright blue eyes and curly brown hair, Stephanie Plum managed to captivate me. She was funny without even knowing it and definitely had a Jersey attitude. I found myself smiling most of the time, something that's very uncharacteristic of me in the classroom.

"Someone's looking fancy today." The deep masculine tone made me stop in my tracks.

I turned to find Tank walking towards me. Once he caught up we hit the stairs together. "What?" I asked confused as to what he meant.

He waved a hand at my attire. "You never wear a suit to class."

I gave a tiny shrug as we reached the second floor. "I'm usually involved in very physical activities and a suit wouldn't be appropriate." I flashed him a small smile as I reached for the door, telling him I attended an award ceremony at my daughter's middle school. "Julie really outdid herself this time." A grin escaped me as I recounted the details.

"She's a smart little girl."

"I know." My grin spread wider.

"How'd the celebration go?"

"I have her this weekend, so I'll take her out to celebrate Saturday morning when I pick her up. Plus, I'm sure Rachel and Ron are taking her to that little restaurant she loves so much near Newark."

"She knows you love her, man." Tank gave me a supportive pat on the shoulder.

I nodded. It's hard to accept the fact that after the divorce I don't get to spend as much time with my daughter, but we certainly make up for it when we're together. "Quality over quantity." I murmured before we parted ways.

By the time I strode into the classroom, everyone was already seated and waiting patiently. "Buenas tardes." I greeted as I walked around collecting their responses for the take home assignment. In response, I received a collective murmur that sounded something along the lines of good afternoon. Deciding to let it slide just this once, I moved to the back of the room to set up their next activity.

I told them to listen carefully before playing a short dialogue for them. When the recording ended, I moved back to the front and asked them to respond to three questions. As I waited for them to jot down their responses to the questions written on the whiteboard, I noticed that Stephanie was just sitting there not doing anything. For a brief moment I considered offering extra assistance, but quickly decided not to do so right now. Best to talk to her individually. That tends to work better when someone's struggling.

When we were halfway through discussing the correct responses to the questions, Stephanie rose from her chair abruptly. Everyone watched her practically run out of the room. I gave them hasty instructions to complete the pre-chapter questionnaire for chapter two before I went after Stephanie. I'm not usually impulsive like this, but something about the way she carried herself urged me to follow.

I spotted her leaning against the wall at the end of the hall, just before the stairwell. "Stephanie?" I called out as I reached her side. When she turned to face me, I realized my intuition was right. She was pale and her usually bright blue eyes had lost their spark. "Are you…?" I didn't even have the chance to get the question out before her legs gave out. I caught her easily and pulled out my cell phone with my free hand to dial Bobby. He's in charge of CPR and First Aid certification classes and he's the go to guy in case of emergencies.

"I'm okay." She said weakly.

"No, you're not." I told her help was on its way.

Bobby arrived less than five minutes later with his kit. "I'll take it from here." He said without looking at me.

I didn't want to, but I had to get back to the classroom.

S&R

After class I inquired about Stephanie and when Bobby told me he took her to St. Francis, I paid her a little visit. She assured me she was fine and sent me on my way. I thought it was a little odd, but gave her space.

But when she was noticeably absent for the next class meeting, I decided to pay her another visit. Finding out where she lives was not difficult, but I did feel a little bit guilty for using RangeMan records to get it. I was overstepping my boundaries, I knew.

As soon as I parked in the small lot adjacent to her apartment building, I debated on whether or not I should go upstairs. In the end, seeing her won and I got out of my car before I convinced myself otherwise.

It took three knocks for her to open the door. She peered out from behind the door and when she recognized me, she opened the door fully. She stared at me for a full minute before she spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"We missed you in class." I said, getting a good look at her. It looked like she'd been crying and the brightness in her eyes was still gone.

She waved me inside and I followed her to living room. "Oh, that. I…uh… I don't think I'll be going to class anymore." The confession was followed by a tight smile.

Taking a moment to really study her, I scanned my eyes over her from head to toe. After carefully cataloguing her, I snapped my gaze back to her face. "Is it serious?" Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that it wasn't my place to prod for answers, but I couldn't help myself. Her eyes locked onto mine and I was finally able to pinpoint what had taken the spark out of her gaze. Sadness.

"Y-…" It seemed like her voice was going to break, but she quickly collected herself. "Yeah."


End file.
